Dawn moved forward after Hikari, pausing as Hikari entered the hallway. She followed the dreamer closely, amazed by the faint color of green.

Dusk rolled her eyes, knowing that she couldn't take over now. The Temple's light prohibited her, and she was at Dawn's mercy until they left.

"Ugh"

Twilight was covered in a small light as the final pillar was pushed into place. He got up and frowned, upset with how he had died in the heat of battle. He didn't move along, but rather took out his easle and began to paint once more. He would not leave until he finished.

Autumn quickly equipped the new whip they had found and gave it a few cracks before putting it back on her belt. "Such a nice find," she sly smirk as she moved along after the others. The green of the next room was nothing to her; her whole life she had been exposed to the green of the foliage of the forest. She knew Flora would feel the same.

Flora rejoined Autumn and walked alongside her. She gazed in awe at the brilliant green light and wondered where the source of it was. "This green...where's it coming from?" she ventured to ask aloud, looking around in an attempt to find it.

As the group continued further down the long hallway, the green light became stronger and stronger, until everything was an iridescent green. The shimmering light seemed to come from the inner chamber, but what could be making the light so vivid and...in a way, soothing?

Upon entering the Inner Chamber, the group came across an odd woman, dressed in a long black cloak, hovering over an alter of sorts. Her back was to the group and a large sword made of iron was impaled into the ground next to her. The woman was scratching the back of her head in her own confusion.

"Argh! I can't make heads or tails of this." She mumbled to herself, shaking her head from side-to-side. "Man did they send the wrong girl. I want to go back to the Dark Realm, this temple gives me the creeps." The woman clenched her fist and pounded the alter, "Damn it! What do these words mean!? I don't even think they're words! Some tiny little brat must have snuck inside and scribbled on the stone! Ugh, the elder is going to hear about this."

The woman sighed and turned around, picking up her sword and walking down the stone steps. She stopped suddenly, finally noticing the group staring at her. She paused for a moment, biting her lower lip. "Okay, and now I have to deal with some Light residents. This is just fan-freaking-tastic. Thanks a lot Ian!"

As the group came upon a being of darkness, some of the light sealing away Dusk faded. This was her chance to move around a bit, maybe lock away Dawn for a bit. Forcing the Transformation, the Demon came forth stretching as she appeared.

"Finally."

Her gaze darted to the woman, and she hissed. She raised her claws and began the battle.

Twilight starts in J6!

Twilight followed the others shortly after and frowned. He didn't like the looks of the woman, and it ruined the picture in his mind.

"Ugh what are you doing here. Your totally ruining the place. Now my painting will be RUINED!!!"

Autumn peered through the green only to see some woman standing there, ready for battle apparently. She had called them "Light residents." What did that mean? Regardless, Autumn took out her new whip and cracked it. "Hey, no one said you had to deal with us, but if you wanna go, let's go!" she challenged boldly.

Flora starts at J7.

Flora felt a bead of sweat form on her forehead. "You don't have to get so worked up, Autumn," Flora said gently. "She's doomed as it is; you don't have to make it worse." She sighed and drew her rapier.

Hikari stepped in behind Autumn, in hopes that she would be protected from the vile woman in front of them. She gave Sekai a look out of the corner of her eye.

Sekai starts in I-7

Sekai looked back at Hikari and grimaced. She knew that look. It was the same look Hikari had given her when they first escaped from the capital city. She sighed and readied herself for battle. "Guys, don't let your guard down, no matter what." Sekai said firmly, refusing to show her own fear in order to protect Hikari.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh, why don't you give it a rest and just fall asleep. Permanently!" Maki growled.

Hikari shivered uncontrollably from just looking at the woman in front of her. There was no doubt in her mind any more. She knew who was behind this.

Sekai moves to E-7

Sekai ran forward one step before leaping into the air, soaring over to the woman until she came up next to her, then unleashed a furious barrage of attacks upon the woman. "You-will-not-hurt-Hikari!" Sekai punctuated each word with a blow from her fist. "Understand!?" She shouted after her last punch.

Dusk ran forward angrily, eyes flaring with bloodlust and hate. She was in one spot one second and then right in front of the woman the next. Her claws became enflamed as she hacked and slashed. One... two... three... four... FIVE. Dusk landed in front of the woman and smirked.

Autumn was about to move forward when she caught Flora's eye. She nodded her head and her smile vanished. She just realized that just walking out there probably wasn't such a good idea, and, as cruel as it would have sounded out loud, she would let the others be her human shield.

Flora waits.

Flora was relieved when she saw that Autumn had understood her glance. And besides, if the others got hurt, she now had the power to heal them, so everything would be okay.

"That's nice." Maki said, wiping the blood off of her lips. She had coughed a little when the two beings attacked her. But now, a strange gas began to envelop the two warriors. Within seconds, both of them were fast asleep, lying on the floor of the temple. Maki then moved away from them and thrust her palm towards the demon. "Now, have a nice dream." Maki growled, sending a blast of energy at the demon.

Maki's R-Ability: Retaliating Slumber activates!

Dusk and Sekai are put to sleep!

Maki moves to E-4

Maki casts Gradual Nightmare on Dusk! Dusk will lose 10% of her health each turn.

Finding his allies asleep, Twilight wondered as to wether he should wake them up, or fight the woman. He sighed and chose to do nothing and strike when the time was right. Moving closer he waited to hit her with everything he had.

Autumn watched as her allies were effortlessly put to sleep. Were they really that tired? She shrugged her shoulders and edged closer to Flora before stopping and wondering what other tricks their opponent had up her sleeve.

Autumn waits.

Flora moves to G7.

Sensing that her friends might need her, Flora began to rush over to her sleeping allies. They were vulnerable now, and they might need healing. She would let Autumn handle the offensive.

"Ugh, you guys are pissing me off!" Maki groaned. She tapped her foot impatiently, trying to think of something to do. "You know, you residents of the Light have it easy. It makes me sick." Maki said to them, impaling her sword into the ground. She raised her palm into the air and sent out an enormous wave of energy at Sekai.

"Ow!" Sekai cried out in pain as the wave of mana hit her. "That hurt!" She growled, glaring at her offender. She wanted to get revenge, but wasn't sure of the repercussions she would face. "Hikari, what do you think?"

"We'll let the others finish her. You take a break for a bit Sekai." Hikari advised. Sekai grumbled a bit before doing as told, backing away from the ominous woman.

"Actually, I think that I should back off too..." Hikari muttered to herself. She had no intentions of getting caught by the witch they were fighting. Besides, with a few more attacks, the others would have her down in no time.

Flora sprang into action when she saw that Sekai had been severely hurt. "I had been wanting to try this out, but now I'm regretting that slightly," she spoke uneasily while she concentrated. A fantastic breeze flowed by her and alleviated the pain of her allies's wounds. She sighed nostalgically as she caught a whiff of the fragrance. "Feeling a bit better, Sekai?" she asked with concern.

Rather than deciding to waste his invisiblity on his allies, he moved towards the foe. He began to paint, the aura not appearing, it being as invisible as Twilight was. A tiger made of the paint appeared and charged at the woman. It appeared, along with Twilight as soon as it bit into her.

Maki shook her leg, slightly surprised by the attack. But, she shrugged it off and glared at the man who attacked her. "You dare assault me with a pitiful attack like that? I'll tear you to pieces!" She shouted, walking up next to him. She raised her sword, which began to glow a light blue, and swung it down on Twilight.

"Now! Assault!" Sekai shouted, rushing up to the woman, intending to injure her greatly. She pulled back her fist and began to assault the woman mercilessly, not letting up for an instant. She ended by throwing up her leg and ramming it into the woman's head. Sekai then returned to her original spot, only a few steps away.

"Okay!" Hikari replied, pointing her staff at the woman, "Become one with the dead!" She growled, sending out an alarmingly enormous wave of energy at the woman, dealing incredible damage to her psyche.

"Don't worry about anything, Flora! We have this under control!" Autumn called out to the florist and cracked her whip. "Come on, Krat! Show her watch ya got!" At the sound of the cracking whip, the monster they had just defeated not too long ago rose from the shadows and immediately launched its attack. It moved towards the enemy so quickly there appeared to be two of the attacking shadow creature. Two deep cuts appeared on Maki's body and Krat returned to Autumn's side. She stroked its head and thanked it before it disappeared into the shadows.

Autumn uses Twin Shadows on Maki! 2 hits! 13 Dmg per hit! (ATK)

MP: 17/25

Flora waits.

Flora nodded to Autumn and held her ground. She was fairly certain that they had won anyway.

As the last attack hit Maki, she crippled and fell to one knee, out of breath. She heaved and gasped for a few minutes before glaring up at the group. "You got me..." She said, chuckling slightly. "I guess you Light folks really do belong in this realm for a reason. Oh well. you haven't seen the last of me, that's for sure!" she said, just as a faint white outline began to appear around her. When the outline stopped, it surrounded Maki completely. Suddenly, the area where Maki lay disappeared, only to replaced with an empty spot of where she once was.

Hikari and Sekai sighed in relief, glad that that was over.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Conversation time! x3 Feel free to walk around a bit and converse with each other while I set up the next scene. :3

Also, if Twilight needs another move, now would be the time to ask for it. xD

"Okay, what say you we get this over with?" Hikari asked, pulling her beads out of the pouch on her belt. She walked up the steps to the altar and examined it. She squinted at the symbols on the altar, which were the same that the woman from before was staring at and couldn't make them out. In fact, Hikari couldn't read them either. She decided to wait and ask Annique about the markings later. Now she placed the beads into the indentations on the stone and took a step back.

"...What was that chant?" Hikari asked herself, "Oh yeah! I remember now! "Beads of Light, broken by shadowy might, be filled with life, so the world will not die!"" Hikari chanted, her hand moving in front of her body, keeping the beat steady like Annique had done.

The beads showed a profound lack of activation.

"What's wrong with these things?" Hikari asked herself, reaching out to grab them. They would have to head back to Annique and ask her about the unresponsive beads. Hikari sighed and gently touched the beads with her fingers.

Suddenly, white light began to shoot out of each one of the beads, the brightness of which forced the group to close their eyes and shield them. The beads continued to shine brighter and brighter until the entire chamber was lit up with it. The light continued to shine, banishing the darkness of the room as the beads slowly rose above the altar and hovered in the air.

The light slowly began to dim, and eventually, Hikari and the others were able to open their eyes. The beads that were once a solid purple color now were a iridescent purple. The beads, unlike before, gave off a luminous purple glow. Hikari slowly picked the beads out of the air and held them in her hands. As soon as she did, the green light from before began to shift and change. It slowly transformed into the same iridescent color as the beads, to celebrate the awakening of the bead's powers.

Hikari turned around to face the group, a bright smile lit up across her lips. "They're back to normal! Now we can go save the capital city!" She exclaimed happily.

Autumn put away her whip and walked over to Flora, stretched, and yawned. It had been very eventful in the temple. Autumn put her arm around Flora. "We've been quite successful today, right?" she said cheerily, evidently happy from the conquering of the temple.

Flora smiled uneasily as Autumn put her arm around her. "Don't say things like that," she reprimanded jokingly. "You'll curse us with that talk." That's when she noticed that Hikari was recharging the beads. She covered her eyes quickly as light flooded the area, and when she opened them, she noticed that the beads were much different than before with their violet luminance. "Is that it? I guess we can head out after all," Flora said with a slight smile.

Twilight had already started working on his painting once more as the lady fell. He wasn't going to miss the chance to finish it once he had started it. He quickly painted the last of it and turned it for the others to see.

"There done! What do you think?"

Meanwhile Dusk had been forced to revert to Dawn as the Lady left. She hissed on the inside, wanting to be free more than ever. Dawn however just yawned and stretched, having enjoyed the nap.

Hikari smiled at the painting. Twilight was very talented with his brush, that was for sure. She nodded at him approvingly, quite glad that he had taken the time to paint the entire room. It meant a lot to the group, that was for sure. She stepped down from the altar and walked over to her sister, Sekai, who looked rather bored at the moment.

Sekai looked away from Hikari towards the others for a moment, but a screech from her sister caused Sekai's head to snap back towards Hikari. The same faint outline that had appeared around Maki was now forming around Hikari. "What's happening!?" Hikari yelled, attempting to jump away from the outline. She slammed against what seemed to be a barrier, unable to move any further. "Sekai! Look out" Hikari suddenly shouted, pointing towards her and the others.

It seems each of them had an outline around them, and when the outline was finished revealing itself, the group disappeared, just as Maki had, leaving the Temple of Light completely devoid of life.

~~~~

"...Unngh..." Hikari groaned, twitching slightly on the ground. She lay sprawled out on the floor, one of her hands close to her mouth, the other palm-up away from the center of her body. Hikari's long hair was spread out all over the place and slowly moved back when she lifted her body into a sitting position. "What happened?" Hikari mumbled, squinting around. The lights around her blinded her for a moment, so she rubbed her eyes and tried again.

The first thing Hikari noticed was that she was in some sort of cave of dungeon, and there were a few metal bars blocking her off from the outside. The second thing, was that she wasn't alone.

Behind Hikari lay the sleeping form of Autumn. She had yet to wake like Hikari, so Hikari quickly moved over to the girl and began shaking her. "Autumn, Autumn! Wake up. It's me, Hikari." Hikari pleaded with the girl. "You have to get up."

--

"Hiyah!" Sekai shouted, kicking a shadow creature with her left foot, sending it flying. Her eyes flashed violently as another beast lunged at her. Sekai grabbed it by the throat and swung it around, slamming it into a wall. "Hikari!" Sekai shouted angrily, "Where the hell are you girl!?" Sekai spun around towards the others, Dawn, Twilight, and Flora, "We've been at this for hours. Where the hell is she?" Sekai demanded. She knew they had no more of an idea than she did, but rage was never one of Sekai's best emotions.

The group of four had been fighting shadow creatures ever since they were trapped in the..transporter, or whatever that thing was. They had been separated from Hikari and Autumn, but Sekai had a feeling they were around somewhere.

"We're never going to find her at this rate..." Sekai groaned, looking around. The shadow creatures had all disappeared, for now. They would have to use this time to rest.

Autumn groaned and opened her eyes. "Is it morning already, Flora?" she spoke softly before she realized that no morning sun was shining down on her and the smell of foliage was nowhere in the air. As a matter of fact, who she was talking to wasn't even Flora. It was Hikari. Autumn sat up quickly. "Hikari! What's going on?" she exclaimed suddenly. She looked around and saw that they were imprisoned. But where?

Flora pierced several shadow creatures in vital spots rendering them dead before they had a chance to attack. The whole air was fragrant with the scent of flowers due to Flora's passive ability and her healing ability. Sweat was beginning to form on her forehead. "I-I don't know how much longer...I can g-go on...," she managed to speak in despair before plunging her rapier into another enemy. Autumn....this might be the end for me, she thought reluctantly as she continued the valiant fight. In truth, it was her desperation that was keeping her going.

"I-I don't know." Hikari said, wrapping herself in her own arms, hugging her legs. "Sekai and the others aren't here, and we're trapped in here." Hikari continued to hug herself for quite some time, her eyes downcast toward the floor. She began to murmur something to herself, although it was inaudible to anyone else but her.

--

"Flora! Don't give up, damn it, or I swear-" Sekai left the threat hanging, breathing heavily. She looked around at the others. "Well, who has an idea? I'm open for suggestions. It's not like we're going anywhere any time soon." Sekai said, sitting down on a ledge to rest for a bit. Sekai tapped her left foot impatiently, resting her head in one of her hand, looking away from the group.

Dawn had been doing all of the fighting since then and was happy she could have a chance to rest. Dusk rolled her eyes and the eventide shifted, feeling some of the tiredness that her other side was feeling. She raised her claws and prepared to fight.

"Ugh..."

Twilight was running out of energy, he was barely able to move much less fight. He felt sore all over, a feeling of sickness washing over him.

"I say we split into two groups, Dusk and Flora go one way, Sekai and I the other. Whoever finds Autumn and Hikari first get to the other group as fast as possible."

"No, I can already tell that isn't going to end very well." Sekai said darkly. She nodded at Flora and Twilight, "You two aren't very fast at running. Dusk and myself, on the other hand, can move fast and for a long period of time." She explained. Sekai paused for a second before continuing, "Besides, what would happen if one of the groups got ambushed? We're already tired as it is. No, we should stick together."